“A War Zone”- Josh Macleod reveals expectations ahead of Wales’ Six Nations opener against England

Upsets are what it will be for Wales in this year’s Championship, with the only favourable tie being against Italy in the final match.

Watch the Guinness Six Nations at your local Greene King sports pub.

“They wouldn’t be playing the sport (if they did not believe they could win),” said Macleod on Wednesday afternoon at the Vale Resort.

“Call it what you want, underdog, we’ll stick to our principles, our game model, and we’ll leave everything out on the pitch, and if that’s enough, that’s enough.

“It will probably feel like going into a war zone.”

They begin in Twickenham on Saturday against England at Allianz Stadium, and Macleod has a belief that Wales have enough to possibly cause an upset in south-west London.

The 29-year-old could be in line for his Six Nations debut, despite it being five years since he last featured in the 2021 tournament. But was unable to make an appearance due to injuries.

But he heads to the English capital, with off-field politics remaining a constant in Welsh rugby.

This will be Steve Tandy’s first Six Nations as head coach, and Macleod highlighted the togetherness following recent weeks involving the regional game in Wales.

“I haven’t really felt it (togetherness) as much as I have coming into this campaign, how tight the boys are, how connected the boys are,” he added.

“Man for man, we’re ready to stand up for each other and fight, and I think that is going to be massive on Saturday.

“It’s purely down to Steve and his coaching group, the values that they’ve set. Care and connection being the main ones, and the boys have really bought into that.”

They visit an England side who are one of the favourites to lift the trophy. This is due to Steve Borthwick’s side sitting third in the world and having recorded 11 consecutive Test match wins.

The real question for Wales is, how long can they stay competitive against the old enemy? Macleod has full confidence that they can.

“There’s a hell of a lot of talent in our team as well; let’s not shy away from that.

“We’ve got a pack that are willing to fight for each other and fight for every inch, a back line full of X factor as well, so as much as they’ve got their strengths, so have we.

“We had a really strong training week last week, and that’s rolled into the start of this week.

“We’ve built our game model, and the boys have adapted really well. They’ve named their side pretty early, and they’ve got strengths across the park.

“We don’t solely focus on one part of the team; there are 15 guys that we’re coming up against, we’ll get our nuts and bolts in order and whatever comes at us, we’ll be ready,” said Macleod.